Cyprus gains more time to achieve surplus

The Associated Press

Cyprus' government spokesman says the country has been granted an extra year - until 2017 - to achieve a targeted budget surplus of 4 percent as part of negotiations with international lenders for a rescue package.

Christos Stylianides said Monday that government negotiators are still looking to extend that by a further year. Under a preliminary agreement with Cyprus' euro area partners and the IMF, Cyprus had until 2016 to generate the budget surplus target through a raft of spending cuts and tax hikes.

Stylianides also said that negotiators will seek to give businesses access to 40 percent of their deposits over 100,000 euros in Cyprus' largest lender that are now frozen under a bank restructuring agreement in order to get the country's moribund economy going again.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

The Bank of Cyprus in Romania says it is suspending its operations in the country for a week and plans to sell the bank.

Bank spokeswoman Liana Voinescu told the Associated Press Monday that the suspension takes effect immediately in its 10 branches around the country. She said ATM machines would remain open, with customers able to withdraw a daily maximum of 4,000 lei (910 euros).

Bank of Cyprus also has branches in Russia, Britain and Ukraine, which remain open. Its Greek operations, and those of Cypriot lenders Laiki and Hellenic, were bought by Greece's Piraeus Bank last week.

Under Cyprus's bailout deal and bank restructuring, foreign operations of Bank of Cyprus and Laiki will be closed to help shrink the Cypriot banking sector.